Men's Basketball

CSUN Races To Largest Victory Of 2007-08 Season, 94-49 over Vanguard

Dec 20, 2007

CSUN Races To Largest Victory Of 2007-08 Season, 94-49 over Vanguard Box Score

Northridge, Ca - It was time to check the school record book as the Cal State Northridge men's basketball team recorded its largest margin of victory of the 2007-08 season with a convincing 94-49 victory over Vanguard University on Thursday night at The Matadome.

The 45-point decision was the seventh largest margin of victory over a non-league opponent in the 46-year history of The Matadome, and the ninth-largest victory in the 50-year history of Matador basketball. It also tied the largest margin of victory by a Big West team this year. On Nov. 17, Pacific defeated Lewis & Clark, 92-47.

Needless to say, CSUN head coach Bobby Braswell was impressed with the intensity of the effort after a 12-day layoff because of finals.

"This group really responded," said Braswell. "We played very good defense, and played unselfishly on offense. It was a great team effort. I'm proud of them."

Vanguard led 8-6 with 17:50 in the first half, but from that point on, the Matadors pressure defense and efficient offense was too much for the visitors. CSUN took the lead for good at 10-8 with 16:47 and extended the lead to as many as 28 points, 48-20, with 25 seconds remaining in the first half. While the Matador offense was in high gear, the CSUN defense didn't allow Vanguard a basket for the final 10:10 of the first half.

Of significance during the first half offensive blitz was a basket by senior all-conference candidate Calvin Chitwood at 4:28. It gave Chitwood 12 first-half points, and 1,000 points for his career.

"It's an honor to be a member and join the other 1,000 point scorers at CSUN," said Chitwood. "But if it wasn't for Josh (Jenkins) or my other teammates distributing the ball to me, I wouldn't be in that category (1,000 point scorer). I really take my hat off to my teammates."

Braswell also noted the accomplishments of Chitwood who has played 90 games over the past four years for Cal State Northridge.

"I've watched Calvin grow and mature and become a good basketball player," said Braswell. "We asked him to be a little more aggressive tonight and look for his shot. He did that tonight."

The first half ended with the Matadors holding a 48-20 lead. Cal State Northridge hit 21-of-34 shots for 62 percent while the Matador defense held Vanguard to only 29 percent shooting (8-for-28).

Cal State Northridge didn't rest on its laurels in the second half. The 28-point halftime lead kept growing to as many as 50 points (93-43) with 1:23 remaining.

"We were able to get into their passing lanes, get steals, and we were able to get 39 deflections on their passes," said Chitwood. "We try on defense to make the other team feel uncomfortable."

For the game, Cal State Northridge hit .533 (40-for-75), out rebounded the Lions, 49-37, held the visitors to 30 percent shooting (19-for-63), and forced Vanguard into 23 turnovers. Cal State Northridge produced a season-low eleven turnovers, and tallied 13 steals.

Chitwood ended the evening with a game-high 20 points (8-for-11 from the floor) in 26 minutes of play. Deon Tresvant once again came off the bench to record his third straight double-digit game with 15 points (4-for-8 from 3-point territory) along with season-highs in assists (5) and steals (3). Senior all-conference candidate Jonathan Heard added 14 points (7-for-11 from the floor), six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 23 minutes. Josh Jenkins added his second double-double of the season with 14 points and ten assists along with four rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. Jayme Miller collected eight points (4-for-5) along with seven rebounds while junior center Tremaine Townsend came off the bench to tally eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks in 20 minutes.

"This game showed that when the team works together, we can get the job done," said Jenkins, who leads the Big West in assists (6.3 apg) "This was a big boost to our confidence."

In seven of the nine games, Jenkins has dished out five or more assists including a season-high 12 against Cal State Bakersfield (11/21/07). That type of play has helped the Matadors achieve a 7-2 record.

"I love the way Josh plays," said Chitwood. "The intensity ... the way he distributes the ball, the way he can score ... He's the complete package."

The victory also allowed Braswell to give significant playing time to 12 players, eight of whom played at least ten minutes. Seven players tallied 20 or more minutes.

Matador Minute ...
With 20 points against Vanguard, senior all-conference candidate Calvin Chitwood has scored 1,008 points in his four-year Matador career ... With two steals against Vanguard, senior all-conference candidate Jonathan Heard now has 134 in his career which ties him for sixth place all-time at Cal State Northridge with Brooklyn McLinn (1989-90, 91-94) ... One of the spectators at the game was former Matador standout Thomas Shewmake (2003-07) ... Shewmake is the school's record holder in blocked shots (82) ... Freshman Tony Osunsanmi picked up five rebounds in only five minutes of action ... Saturday's game at Washington will be televised to the Southern California area on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.